Basics: Pilates (1 of 2)

Next in our workout basics, we are turning our attention to Pilates.   Today we’ll discuss some of the whats and whys of Pilates and tomorrow we’ll talk about how.

Pilates is the creation of Joseph Pilates (I call him “Uncle Joe”) and it is both an exercise system and a philosophy.  In that way, it is similar to yoga, although yoga is more inherently spiritual.  After Uncle Joe died, his students took his work in a variety of directions, which is right and natural.  Different Pilates schools will emphasize different parts of the practice.  However, all kinds of Pilates will share some basic principles.  There are six.

 

First, breathing.  If we don’t breathe, we die.  If we learn to breathe better, we can improve our quality of life.  Breath facilitates motion and movement in turn can facilitate our breath.  This is why, when we go to Pilates, our instructors will tell us about when to breathe.  As we practice Pilates, we find that we do breathe more easily and this has good impacts across our lives.

 

Second, axial elongation and core control.  Think of this as countercultural pressure.  We live in a slouched society.  As we work through our Pilates exercises, we find that we feel taller and more centered, more capable of deep breath and clear thought.  (This is also one of the principles that makes us look good!!!)  This also contributes to good balance.

 

Third, spine articulation.  Our spines are there not only to support us, but also to enable us to move freely.  When our spines get too rigid, the rest of our movements are impaired.

 

Fourth, organization of the head, neck, and shoulders.  As I mentioned in the part about axial elongation, we are slouchy.  We hunch over our desks and phones.  This puts our upper body out of whack and contributes to all kinds of problems, including headaches.

 

Fifthy, alignment and weight bearing of the extremities.  Once we have our spine and our upper body straightened out, we want to propagate that healthy positioning and strength out into our arms and legs.  Here’s where we get practical in the activities of our lives.

 

Finally, movement integration.  Isolated movements in any part of the body can improve local function, but in real life, we rarely use just one body part or muscle group.  The Pilates repertoire helps us learn to coordinate movement using our whole bodies with efficiency and grace.

 

Given the principles, it’s not too hard to see why we might want to do some Pilates.  The practice is both empowering and relaxing.  We tune into that mindbody connection space, which can deeply enrich our lives.  We feel taller.  We move more efficiently, which means we have more energy to do the things we want to do.  Our balance improves, as does our posture.

 

It's good stuff.